Nightmare (A Niam [one direction ] FanFiction

chapter 9

Niall is attacked leaving an interview and the boys must pull together to help their band mate through his recovery. It isn't easy...

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After his IV was finished and the doctor had once again checked him over, Niall had been released from the hospital under strict instructions to drink lots of water and start eating smaller meals more regularly in order to combat his low blood pressure.

The rest of the weekend was spent in their apartment complex either in the gym or practicing or doing nothing more than sprawling in front of the TV and watching crap.

The only person who left after they had gotten back on Friday evening had been Liam on Saturday afternoon so that he could go see Danielle. Without understanding why, Niall had been hurt by that action and had buried his head in Zayn's shoulder rather than watch Liam leave. By doing that he missed the meaningful look that Louis had shot in the tall boy's direction and Liam's determined nod in return.

The nightmares were back with a vengeance and Niall found himself waking up screaming and crying within minutes of falling asleep. That's if he even fell asleep at all.

The boys crawled into bed with him in pairs on Saturday and Sunday night after Niall had emerged from his bedroom on Saturday morning with red-rimmed eyes and a haunted look on his face. But not even their presence could keep the nightmares away for long and he knew he was responsible for the bags beneath his band mate's eyes.

They never complained, though, not even Zayn who loved sleep almost as much as he loved the band, and seemed happy enough to just hold him and stroke his hair and whisper meaningless platitudes into his ear until he had calmed down.

When Niall had expressed his guilt to the rest of the boys on Sunday afternoon as Harry and Louis had yawned through practice the oldest of the group had just pulled him into a hug and told him not to worry about it and reminded him, "it's not forever. Things are going to get better, Nialler."

And, despite what the doctor had told him, Niall found it difficult to keep any food down for long, either feeling nauseous just at its smell or not being able to cope with the way it rested on his uneasy stomach. The only thing he could really manage was unbuttered toast so the other boys always kept him well supplied with that and plenty of water.

He had dizzy spells quite often, usually due to a lack of sleep as well as lack of food, as his body protested all the extra stress it was being put under. It was always worse after they had been in the gym and the other boys, especially Liam, watched him with hawk eyes, always ready to right him before he could fall.

They didn't really speak about what had happened on Friday or what could happen once the interviews started on Monday as they were boys and struggled to speak openly about their emotions in front of the group so they instead showed their love and support for one another through action and touch.

An extra hand there, an arm around the shoulder here, fingers tangling together instead of merely brushing one another's skin.

They pulled together like a band of brothers and supported each other through every doubt and fear, every second when they felt like it was all getting too much to bear and the weight of the world seemed to be pushing down on them, crushing them...

Monday morning came too quick.

Niall had only had about half an hour of sleep right at the beginning of the night before being awoken by a nightmare so cruel and frightening that it had him running to the bathroom to throw up what felt like everything he had ever eaten. Liam had rubbed his back the whole time while Zayn had wiped at his mouth and supported him while he brushed his teeth once he was finished before the three of them had returned to bed, curling up together with Niall in the middle, holding him until his sobs died down, and the older two boys had fallen asleep.